I have a 5.5 gallon aquarium in my college dorm room with a filter, aerator, and I am planning on getting a heater soon...

I had 4 guppies (female) but they have all died during the cycling process and I was wondering if i should stick to guppies or switch to another type of fish...i can't have too many since it is only a 5 gallon. It has been about 2 weeks since i first put fish in the tank, and almost 3 weeks since i set up the tank so the cycle is still going on...I was planning on getting some new fish tomorrow...

i get a refund for the dead fish since they died within two weeks...and each fish was around $1.50...plus i am going to add a snail...

I am looking for any advice on what fish I should get (I didn't ask when i got the original fish), I am looking for fish which are easy to take care of and not too expensive, I am a college student who can't afford much...and I have already spent quite a bit of money on my current setup...

Also should I get any sort of better fish food? I currently have some goldfish flake food which I used with my goldfish I had in the past...so i would love to be able to use that food, but if it is not good for the fish or if there is anything else I should buy for them to supplement their diet (frozen blood worms or something...)

anyways...any advice would be appreciated...

Emily

MoneyMitch

10-21-2009 06:58 PM

go with a betta, nothing more easy to take care of then one of those.

eileen

10-21-2009 10:53 PM

Try craigslist in your area. Someone wanted fancy guppies and I answered the ad and gave her my excess baby guppies, 12 tiny babies and 12 older ones they were Tiger/Hybrid endlers. Here is what they look like:Tiger Endler pictures by yimes - Photobucket

Put an ad in that you are a college student and want any easy to care for fish for you newly set up 5 gal. tank. Alot of people try to rehome their fish for free or very little money. Livebearers are the easy and people always want to give away the excess babies. Good Luck!

DustyBZoo

10-21-2009 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoneyMitch
(Post 261289)

go with a betta, nothing more easy to take care of then one of those.

I agree for a 5 gallon tank.

emmers

10-22-2009 01:17 AM

thanks for your answers...i was hoping to go with something i could get more than one of...hence first starting out with guppies...I will consider the betta though and when I go to the pet-store tomorrow I will ask about it and see what they think...also i have never seen a very active betta (like one who swims around the aquarium...) they are pretty, but sort of boring in my experience...but like i said I will consider it, and talk to the person tomorrow...

I would still love to hear more about the types of food to get to supplement their diet (for whatever fish you think would be good...)

Emily

MoneyMitch

10-22-2009 01:22 AM

forgot about neon tetras might take a look at them, gunna need to get atleast 3 though but in that size tank get 1 a week so you dont overload your bio filtration.

Rohland

10-22-2009 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emmers
(Post 261527)

thanks for your answers...i was hoping to go with something i could get more than one of...hence first starting out with guppies...I will consider the betta though and when I go to the pet-store tomorrow I will ask about it and see what they think...also i have never seen a very active betta (like one who swims around the aquarium...) they are pretty, but sort of boring in my experience...but like i said I will consider it, and talk to the person tomorrow...

I would still love to hear more about the types of food to get to supplement their diet (for whatever fish you think would be good...)

Emily

Oh you havent seen an active betta until you give it space, and a heater, and maybe a filter if you want and get it out of the little cups. Lots of people who keep them and give them proper conditions have really happy active bettas. Mine swims all over the place and follows my finger around the tank thinking im dropping food. He sometimes tries to bite my finger or even jump to get it too. It did take a couple days for him to get used to his new home.

Calmwaters

10-22-2009 10:15 AM

I agree completely with Rohland. I currently have 15 Bettas (rescued #15 yesterday) and they all are active and happy fish. They follow me around the tanks and one of them his name is Hershey because he is the color of a Hershey kiss, he is my avitar, will come over to were I sit at the computer in the morning and stare at me until I feed him. Please do not listen to what the people that work at the store tell you some times they are not well trained. If you really want to learn about bettas go to the betta section on here you can find all the correct info and see some beautiful bettas to.
Edit: Just wanted to add with the tank size you have you could even put a divider in it and have 2 bettas one on each side.